In manufacturing, live musical performances, construction and other noisy environments, continued exposure to high sound levels can cause hearing loss. Repeated exposure to noise levels above 90 decibels can cause hearing loss in a relatively short time. Hearing loss has become such a problem in the United States that OSHA requires any workers who are continually exposed to an ambient noise level above 90 decibels to wear hearing protection. Hearing loss arising out of continued exposure to high sound levels can easily be avoided or greatly reduced by using hearing protection devices, such as earplugs.
There are many types of earplugs. Foam earplugs are a type of hearing protection used in noisy environments to protect against hearing loss. Foam earplugs can be fabricated from a variety of materials including silicon, various plastics, PVC, and polyethylene. Two of the more common materials used are PVC and polyethylene. These materials provide an earplug which can be compressed to a small diameter and inserted into the ear canal. Once in the ear canal, the earplug slowly expands or recovers to seal against the interior surface of the ear canal and inhibit noise or sound from entering the ear canal. Flanged earplugs are a second type of hearing protection that typically include a flexible body having one or more flanges extending away from the body that form a seal within the ear canal.
A common problem with earplugs is that they are not sufficiently customizable. Often, only a few designs of earplug are provided. In one aspect, the level of attenuation or sound reduction provided by an earplug is fixed. In many cases, it may be desirable to have hearing protection where the sound filtering characteristics, including the volume and type of sound filtered, be easily changeable. Additionally, while the appearance of the earplugs is typically static and not easily changed, it may be desirable in certain circumstances to change the appearance of the earplug.
What is needed, therefore, is an earplug that is highly customizable in both attenuation or filtering characteristics as well as in appearance.
The above and other needs are met by an earplug and earplug kit having an ear insert, one or more interchangeable filters that may be removably mounted to the insert for filtering various levels and types of sounds, and one or more interchangeable sound blocking members that may be removably mounted to the insert to reflect or absorb a portion of sounds directed toward a user's ear.
In a preferred embodiment, the ear insert has inner and outer portions, where the inner portion is sized and configured for insertion into an ear canal such that it will attenuate sound waves directed toward the ear canal. The ear insert includes a flexible body defining an elongate shape having an internal channel extending there through that is configured to permit sound waves to pass through the earplug and into the ear canal. The flexible body may include at least one conformable vane or flange that projects from an external surface of the flexible body and is configured to work cooperatively with the flexible body to conform to a portion of the ear canal when the inner portion of the ear plug is inserted into the ear.
The removable filter may be inserted into the internal channel of the ear insert. The filter has an insertion tip configured for insertion into the internal channel of the ear insert and a stop configured to abut the outer portion of the ear insert. In some embodiments, the stop is cylindrical in shape and has a first raised ridge located adjacent to the insertion tip that abuts the outer portion of the ear insert, a center portion, and a second raised ridge following the center portion of the cylindrical stop. The internal channel may have a first diameter at the inner portion and a second diameter at the outer portion, such that the sound blocking member removably engages only one end of the ear insert and not the opposite end.
The removable filter includes filter media for attenuating sound waves passing into the ear canal through the internal channel. An internal channel extends through the filter and is configured to permit filtered sound waves to pass through the filter. The filter media are disposed in the internal channels of the filters. In certain embodiments, the filter media may be removed from the filter and replaced with different filter media having alternate filtering characteristics.
The sound blocking member attaches to the outer portion of the ear insert and may reflect or absorb a portion of sound waves directed toward the ear canal. The sound blocking member may be flat and plate-like and polygonal in shape. Alternatively, the sound blocking member may be contoured or have projections, including ridges or lips that extend away from the front surface. In certain embodiments, the sound blocking member includes an opening configured to engage the stop. For example, the opening may slide over one raised ridge of the stop and then be retained in the unraised center by the ridges. In certain embodiments, the sound blocking member extends away from the stop and covers a portion of a concha of the ear.
The sound blocking member may also be decorative. An ornamental design may be located on the front or back surface or, instead, may be formed into the sound blocking member itself. In certain cases, especially where the ornamental design is applied to the back surface of the sound blocking member, the sound blocking member is at least partially transparent so the design is visible when looking at the front surface.